Additional Pay FAQ

If the TL security is updated, can we enter the add’l pay immediately or do we have to wait unit the next day for TL security overnight process to use the new approvers?

You can enter immediately. You cannot change the approvers once the addl pay is created.

To enter budget funding we need to know the earnings code that it will swap to. We no longer get to enter those earnings codes if we need them. How will we be able to confirm the right swapped code/how will we be able to enter the funding/When will the swap show up?/Where will we see the swapped code?/ Will it change the add’l pay?

You can enter funding using the earnings code you expect the payment to swap to. The earnings code swap happens right before the final calc & confirm. If after the calc, you discover that the earnings code swap did not do what you expected, you could process a salary cost transfer to correct the funding.

If you use mass upload and one of the employees has no level 1 approver set up, will they get a notification/hard stop? Will the others in the mass upload go through?

The one without the level 1 approver will error out and will be on the error report. The others will upload.

Is there a character limit for the comments field?

No.

If we set up a 10/1–10/31 one-time payment that isn’t approved until after the 10M calcs, will that auto pick up on the 11M as a retro?

Yes. if you have a 1-month date range, it will pick up on the 11M. It will not be paid using the retro earnings code though. It will be paid using the lump earnings code with the retroactive date range (10/1–10/31).

If an ongoing add’l pay is entered with a start date of 10/1 and not approved until the day after the calc, does the retro 10/1–10/30 payment automatically load as well as the current 11/1–11/30 payment on the 11M?

Ongoing payment will have to be stopped and created again beginning 11/1. The retro 10/1–10/30 will need to be a separate request because retro add’l pays post directly to paylines.

If you setup with goal and goal amount, do you also need to include an end date?

Best Practice is to include an end date. Add’l pay will stop which ever it reaches first, the goal amount or end date. If you put a goal amount and no end date and the employee terms and comes back HRS will continue to pay that add’l pay to the employee. The add’l pay will process on every check including a check for termination pay.

How do you enter back dated multiple payments?

Back dated add’l pay entries require a separate entry for each pay period. The Effective date should match the pay period.

What is the benefit of the batch upload process?

The batch upload process saves time for the enterer, they can upload a spreadsheet with multiple payments rather than entering each add’l pay individually.

Does email go out once add’l pay is approved?

Yes, to the original enterer. No notice is sent to the Level 1 and 2 approvers.

Would there ever be an issue where enterer wouldn’t know who the approvers are?

No, the approvers can be seen right on the workflow for add’l pay create page.

If level 2 pushes back an add’l pay does it go to level 1 or the enterer?

Pushbacks go back to level 1. This is an opportunity for level 2/3 to question the payment. If the payment is wrong, should use deny.

Can we print the approved add’l pay screen, will it show the full comments field and the approved status?

You could print the screen of the entry page which includes the approval chain. (There is no print function in HRS). This is the entry page however; true proof of payment should be Review Paycheck.

What is the deadline for fully approving an add’l pay?

Best practice before the first prelim pay calc (pay sheets created). During each of the calc processes addl pays that have been fully approved will be loaded to pay sheets.

Which approvers are used for back dated additional pays?

The current approvers in HRS will be the workflow approvers.

Who should be set up level 1 approvers?

Supervisors must be set as level 1 approvers. In some cases a supervisor may not be appropriate and in that case the level 1 approver should be someone with firsthand knowledge of the payment/work/performance, e.g. the scholarship coordinator can be the level 1 approver for a nonresident alien lump sum scholarship payment.

How are level 1 approvers/supervisors assigned?

Supervisors/level 1 approvers are pulled from the REPORTS TO field in Job Data and the UW Approver and back up approvers in TL Security.

Do we need to add level 2 approvers to the TL Security page?

No. OHR maintains the Level 2 approver table. As Level 2 approvers change, notify HRIS@ohr.wisc.edu.

How do we know if we have a Level 3 approver?

Enterer can see the approvers on the entry screen. You can also reference the WfAP earnings code chart in the HRS Coordinators Box> Resources>WfAP folder.

What if there is no level 1 approver?

If there is no level 1 approver HRS will not allow the add’l pay entry.

What if there is no back-up approver at Level 1?

You’ll get a soft warning that there is only one approver at level 1 before you finish entering. This allows you to pause the entry and add a back-up before submitting.

Can Level 1 and Level 2 Approvers edit add’l pays?

No, they cannot edit. This is a financial control.

What is the difference between “Deny” and “Pushback” for approvers?

If the add’l pay is incorrect, choose Deny, the add’l pay will go back to the enterer. If a level 2/3 approver has a question, they can use pushback to request clarification from the level 1 approver.

If the supervisor approves and Level 2 pushes back to enterer, but the enterer is not available, can another enterer fix the issue?

Yes.

If an approver denies, is there a comment box to inform the enterer why the payment was denied?

Yes, the comment field is required if an approver denies.

Now that this additional pay process is in place, will lump sums still be on our HRS SOD logs weekly?

No, we no longer have to approve them outside of this Workflow for Additional Pay (WfAP).

How can I cancel an add’l pay after it has been approved?

• Add a row on work flow page (no matter where record is)
• Effective date and end date must match
• Use the first day of the first pay period the add’l pay should not pay out on
• Uncheck the ok to pay
• Does not need approval
• Effective date cannot be the last day of the last pay period, this is a change in what was initially taught in early add’l pay training sessions.

How do you fix an add’l pay entry that is wrong?

See the Enter Additional Pay KB.

Can you have the Create Add’l Pay security role removed if you don’t want to have it anymore?

Yes, send the request to hris@ohr.wisc.edu.

Do level 1 Approvers have to go to training?

No, the process is fairly self-explanatory and there are tip sheets to assist on the WfAP readiness page.

What is driving this change?

UW System Internal Audit identified gaps and risk in the old process for processing add’l pays. Previously an employee could enter an incorrect or fraudulent add’l pay and there would be no review or approval until after the funds were already paid out.

I’m neither an enterer nor approver. If I need an add’l pay, how would I know it’s being paid out?

Follow up with the enterer of the add’l pay. They will get notified when the payment has been fully approved.

Who can we contact if we have an issue with Add’l Pay?

Email payroll@ohr.wisc.edu.